Laughing Matters
by Calliope6
Summary: Eiji has found himself torn: between his new best friend, and the one person who has always been their for him. Confused - Eiji has to find a way to sort things out before he loses them both. (EijiXOishi,EijiXJirou)
1. Falling Over You

"Laughing Matters"

-a Tennis no Oujisama fan-fiction by Calliope-

Chapter One: Falling Over You

EDIT EDIT!!!

Message EDIT!: Alright alright! I acknowledge the blasphemy which is the pairing I have chosen! You don't have to keep on reminding me! LOL! Also, yeah, if I change things or things are said which you don't appreciate - fine- I acknowledge that also - but yeesh! Give me a break! All is explained later! It all works out for the best! TRUST ME! HEHEHEH! If you're just too mad at me for what I've done - fine! Don't read it! Nobodies making you! Heheh! Man, I've never been torn down so much for writing something before! SHWEE! Stick around and I promise you wont end up still hating me! Hehehhe!

(PS: a lot of times in my dialogue you'll find a bunch of what, you might assume, are typos. I assure you they aren't all! although, I do make lots - I'm dyslexic - give me a break LOL! Some of them are just random noise words - I used a lot of the ones I say like, "mah", "chi", "waii", "mar", and the like. Sorry bout that, but I just thought it fit their characters! )

Summery: Eiji has found himself torn, between his new best friend, and the one person who has always been their for him. Confused and feeling like he can't have both - overcome with guilt and wishing there was something he could do - Eiji has to find a way to sort things out before he loses them both!

Warnings: shounen-ai, language, etc. EijiXOishi, EijiXJirou

(Disclaimer: as much as I wish it wasn't true - none of these characters belong to me. TT sadness)

"Nyaa! I knew there was nothin' to worry about the whole time!" Eiji laughed, slinging his tennis bag over his shoulder, as he and his fellow Regulars cleared the courts after Ryoma's, all too, sweeping victory against Hyotei's, Hiyoshi Wakashi. Echizen's match had quickly put an end to the, ridiculously, intense first round of the regional finals with a smashing 7-2 win, that they could all breath a sigh, of at least temporary, relief at.

"Yeah sure - your death grip on my arm after Tezuka went down says otherwise." Oishi shook his head at him, smiling, as he rubbed his sore, left arm, threw his sleeve.

"Well sorry!" Eiji stuck his tongue out at him playfully. "Kehh! I hope he's gonna be ok though!" his eyes went wide and he flailed his arms in an odd show of concern, "But - still," Eiji began to whine again, skipping over the more important details and grabbing his stomach, "I'm SOOOOO hungry!" he went on, reeling dramatically.

The regulars all just shook their heads, smiling to themselves - leave it to Kikumaru Eiji to lighten even the most serious of moods.

"I have some Pocky in my bag you can eat if you want." Fuji offered.

"WAII! Really!?" the springy, magenta-haired, boy exclaimed happily.

"Sure - here." he said, offering his friend a partially open box of Strawberry Pocky.

"AHH! My favvvv!" Eiji groaned in delight, tearing into the remaining package with his teeth. Fuji just smiled as usual, and Eiji stopped for a moment - eyeing him oddly.

"Chiiii... what'd you do?" he asked Fuji suspiciously. The brunettes ever present, slightly devious, smile always seeming to make everything he did have an ulterior motive.

"Nothing." the, subtly disturbing, tensai only went on smiling.

"I swear Fujiko-chan, if I didn't trust you so much - I wouldn't trust you at ALL!." Eiji told him sardonically, as he snapped down on one of the, thickly-coated, snack sticks.

"Gawd - I'm totally exhausted and I didn't even play," Oishi sighed, as the boys all threw their tennis bags down on the ground by the nearest benches, "I can only imagine how you guys feel." he observed, in his, typically-over-worried, way.

"It was rather intense, wasn't it..." Inui said calmly, as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Intense isn't the half of it!" Momoshiro cut in, looking utterly relived that the whole thing was over.

"And just think! This is only the beginning!" Eiji exclaimed, clenching his fists in pure, excited, delight. "Jahh, but marr - I need a drink," he muttered threw a mouth half full of Pocky, "anyone else want something?"

Everyone just shook their heads and Kikumaru bounded off, like the sugar-filled-crack- kitty, that they all knew he was - across the grass to find the nearest vending machine.

"Hiyo!? Hiyo vending machine!?!" Eiji shouted randomly, as though he were expecting a reply - as he wandered across the complex aimlessly, "HIY - AHHHHH!"

Kikumaru's calling turned to surprised exclamation as he stumbled, falling head over heals and landing on his back in the grass.

"EHHHHHHH!" he whined bitterly, sitting up, and rubbing his head as he pouted. "What the hell!!!" he snapped bitterly, picking up his, now empty, Pocky box, and hucking it at his paths obstruction.

"Mahh..." the only partially awakened, but mostly asleep, copper-brown haired boy whom Eiji had tripped over groaned slightly. Quite obviously out of sorts, the groggy boy lifted his hand from his side and pick up the Pocky box which was now laying on his chest.

"Hey... Pocky." he muttered, a weird, vague, smile, crossing his drowsy expression.

"Pocky nothing! What the hell are you doing sleeping out here!" Eiji nipped at him crossly.

"Mmh?" he sat up a bit, propping himself up on his elbow and looking over at Eiji, who was still sitting where he'd fallen, arms crossed and pouting like an irritated little kid.

"Mmhhhhhh... that's it?!"

"What the hell?"

"That's what I said!"

"Sei-ga-ku..." he muttered, sounding out the letters on Eiji's jacket as if they were foreign to him.

"HYO-I-TEHH!!!" Eiji yelled back at him phonetically.

"AHH! You're from the same team as that awsome guy I played!" the boy sat bolt up right suddenly, startling an already agitate Eiji. "WAIII! AWSOME!!"

"What the fu - "

"FUJI SYUSUKE! You ARE on his team right!?!"

"Yeah - and you're - "

"Akutagawa, Jirou Akutagawa!" the once lethargic boy exclaimed emphatically.

"Yeah, I know." Eiji nodded, totally thrown off by his night/day switch in personality. "I saw you play Fuji, you were pretty crazy!" he began to laugh, all of a sudden forgetting that he'd just been mad.

"No way! Fuji was the crazy one! I mean, WAIIIIIIII! SUGOI!!!" he went on raving.

"Hehehe! Yeah yeah! I know what you mean! He can be kinda scary some times!" he nodded, not even realizing the conversation he was getting into.

"Scary nothin! Play with Atobe - THAT'S scary. Fuji-san was so COOL!" Jirou exclaimed, grinning like some rabid fan-girl.

"I know I know! He is a tensai after all! Gawd! He makes me SO jealous some times!!"

"CHAI! No doubt!!!" He nodded quickly.

"Heheh! You think so huh?" Eiji laughed at him, completely amused. "Oh yeah - can I have my Pocky back?" he asked, suddenly realizing that the Hyotei Regular was crushing the flimsy, pink-cardboard, box, in his excitedly clenched fist.

"Eh? Oh! Sorry!" he laughed, scratching at the bridge of his nose in embarrassment as he handed the box to Kikumaru, "Guess I broke em huh? Hehehe."

"Nah, I already spilled what was left when I tripped over you." he pouted, remembering again why he was sitting there.

"EH! Gomen gomen!!" Jirou appologized again, "I have more if you want!" the fully- awake, and high-strung, boy pulled his tennis bag off his shoulders quickly and swung it around in front of him.

"CHI! Really! Thanx!" Eiji - never one to refuse candy - nodded quickly.

"Chocolate, Banana, Green-Tea, or Strawberry?" Jirou asked him, as he rooted threw his bags outer pockets, shaking different boxes to see how full they were.

"STRAWBERRY! It's my favorite!" Eiji nodded rapidly, grinning from ear to ear.

"AH! Me too!" Jirou laughed, handing one of a number of pink-foil packages over to Kikumaru, who accepted it eagerly.

"Mmmm! Oishiiiii!" he squealed, bitting into three at once, as Jirou did likewise.

"That was a pretty awesome game we had huh!?" Jirou went on rambling to Eiji as the pair munched away.

"Totally! It was one of best EVER! I thought Tezuka and Atobe were gonna go at it all day!!" Eiji exclaimed, failed his arms madly back and forth, mimicking their swings.

"Well - heheheh, I slept threw most of it actually," Jirou confessed, sounding a little ashamed, "but what I did see was totally AMAZING! 5-6, 6-6, 6-7, 7-7, 7-8, OH MY GAWD! I thought it'd NEVER end!!!"

"I KNOW!!!" they both squealed like gossiping girls - the two's oddly, over-hyped, personalities only worsening each others.

"I didn't see the game, but - I heard when you beat Gakuto and Oshitari in doubles." Jirou went on, as he brushed bright-pink crumbs from his, stark, white, Hyotei jacket.

"Yeah, we did, but - it wasn't a good game at all." Eiji pouted with a sigh, thinking about how crappy his game had felt, "You didn't really miss anything."

"You were with a different partner right?"

"Yeah -" he nodded, sighing with resentment as he clenched his Pocky in his teeth.

"That must a been totally harsh!" Jirou exclaimed, catching Eiji off guard again with his exclamatory tone. "I don't know doubles - but, I know you gotta be totally in synch!"

"Totally! I hate playing without Oishi! And I had no idea that Hyotei had a player like me!!!"

"Gakuto? Yeah well -" Jirou stuck out his tongue, "he's flashy - and his Moon Salute's pretty freakish - but, between you and me," he leaned in closer to Eiji, who leaned in as well. "You'd probably kick his as in singles! Hhehe!"

"You think so!?" Eiji laughed, feeling particularly flattered.

"CHI! TOTALLY!" Jirou batted his hand at Eiji as if it were more fact then theory. "Atobe makes us know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING bout all the teams, and you're kickin' compared to that feather-weight!" he laughed.

"WAII! Thanx Akutagawa-san!" Eiji laughed, thinking it odd, but funny, that anyone from Hyotei would say that sort of thing.

"Hehehe! No prob! And it's Jirou, JI-ROU! My last names too long don't you think?"

"Hehehe! If you says so Jirou-kun."

"Well I do!"

"Hoi hoi - You know, your captain's SERIOUSLY scary!" Eiji whined to Jirou, while thoughts of the Hyotei team started bouncing around his head.

"HEHE! I know! I know! Isn't he?! With that THING he does? 'I see EVERYTHING'." Jirou mocked Atobe's voice deeply, as he dragged his fingers dramatically down his forehead and across his nose.

The pair burst out laughing hysterically, holding their sides as they giggled and snorted like six-year-olds. They just went on laughing too - until they were both literally in tears - making fun of their team mates and complementing each other on their, distinctly-alike, taste in practically everything. Although they'd only just met one another that morning they were already talking like they were just old friends catching up with one another.

"Ehhhh, Kikumaru-san, why can't someone like you play for us!" Jirou tried to talk threw his waning laughter, "It wouldn't be half so boring! And I totally wouldn't wanna sleep threw everything!"

"CHAII! Same same! No one on Sigaku's half as fun as you! It's always - 'Eiji, stop that', 'Eiji, cut that out', 'Eiji, be more serious'," he laughed, so obviously mocking the way Oishi was constantly babysitting him.

"Hhehe! I know what you mean!" Jirou nodded as he rubbed his tears of laughter away with his jacket sleeve.

"EIJI!"

"JIROU!"

The two boys happy fits of laughter were suddenly interrupted by two distinctly irritated voices. Their shoulders shrugging up to their ears - like puppies who'd just been scolded for chewing a shoe - and they both turned slowly. Atobe and Oishi were both standing behind them, arms folded across their chests, looking thoroughly pissed off.

"Where have you been!" They both yelled in unison - causing them to snap harsh looks at one another.

"Do you have any idea what time it is!?!" Oishi shouted at Eiji.

"Everyone was looking all over for you, idiot! We're leaving!" Atobe scolded Jirou with equal harshness.

"Sorry..." the once hyperly-excited boys both sulked apologetically, getting slowly to their feet. Eiji and Jirou both looked at each other with sad expressions, as though their mothers' had just shown up to drag them home.

"We're leaving too Eiji, lets go." Oishi frowned at him, stepping back.

"Hurry up Jihro." Atobe just shook his head, turning his back on them and walking off.

"It's been fun." Eiji smiled at his new-found-friend sheepishly.

"Yeah." Jirou nodded, smiling weakly, as he knew full well they were both in trouble.

"Bye." Kikumaru nodded. But as he tried to leave, Jirou grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

"Eiji!" Oishi called him insistently.

"Coming!" Eiji groaned, grinning back at the Hyotei Regular as he ran over to his doubles-partner's side. Jirou just shrugged his shoulders back, smirking as he began to yawn, stretching his hands over his head and waving.

Eiji was completely ignoring Oishi's reprimands as they walked out of the tennis grounds; he just nodded at appropriate intervals, giving the occasional 'uh huh'. He glanced down at the back of his hand quickly, smiling with a quick squeak of laughter, before burying it safely in his pocket again. His skin was still tingling, from having a ball-point pen dragged across it so roughly, as it left behind the phone number which had just been quickly scrawled onto it.

(To be continued)


	2. Falling Together

"Laughing Matters"  
-a Tennis no Oujisama fan-fiction by Calliope-  
  
Chapter Two: Falling Together  
  
Message: Hmm... i really don't have much to say this time around, I'm just hoping that if you've read this far you'll stick around for the whole thing! hehe! cuz i PROMISE! this will be finished! i've already wrote it all - it just has to be edited and posted! so none of that - half finished story stuff from me!!! NO WAY! heheh! Well! Anyway! R&R! Hope you're liking it!! CHI!

Summery: Eiji has found himself torn, between his new best friend, and the one person who has always been their for him. Confused and feeling like he can't have both - overcome with guilt and wishing there was something he could do - Eiji has to find a way to sort things out before he loses them both!  
  
Warnings: shounen-ai, language, etc. EijiXOishi, EijiXJirou(everybodies favorite sleepy/hyper Hyotei boy!)  
  
(Disclaimer: as much as I wish it wasn't true - none of these characters belong to me. TT sadness)  
  
The next few days spiraled rapidly, with Seigaku's Regulars deep in practice for the next match of the regional finals and Tezuka, shaking up the whole dynamic, with his injury and talk of leaving. For Eiji, trying everything possible to find a way to ignore the stress and chaos of the days to come, was only natural.

"And then, by the time we FINALLY got there she was already gone! But fuck if it wasn't the funniest thing ever!" Eiji was laughing into the phone, re-telling the events of a previous day's,  
rather ridiculous, excursion. 

"Dahhh! Really! Gawd! They must have felt SO stupid!" Jirou's laughter rang back at him from the other end of the line.

The night after their fateful encounter, Eiji had gone strait home and dialed the number Jirou had so hastily scribbled onto his hand when they parted. After Jirou's mother had finally managed to wake him up, the two of them had talked for what was literally hours, about getting reamed out for their little encounter, and progressively whatever else came to mind.

"They just don't understand guys like us!" Eiji had told him once, sounding as though they were soul mates, "We just can't help but be a little worked up some times!"

"What's it matter to them anyway?" Jirou had agreed, "Bein' happy never killed anyone."

"Hey hey, if it was Tezuka I bet it might!" Eiji had laughed, having a difficult time imaging their, oh-so-stoic, captain so much as humored, let alone overjoyed.

"Hey! Hey! Kikumaru! What'd you say we skip practice and go out tomorrow!"

"Go out? Me and you?" Eiji snickered at his phrasing.

"Yeah yeah - that's right Eiji," Jirou mocked sarcastically, "Come on a date with me!"

"Hehehe! K K! Sounds like fun!" Eiji agreed, without so much as considering the consequences of skipping out on practice during such an important time.

"Yay! Alright! I'll meet you downtown right after class and we can go for icecream!"

"KAH! Great idea!" Eiji nodded excitedly, bouncing up and down on his bed.

"Alright, talk to you later then!" "K! Ja! Later Jirou."

Throwing the phone to the floor, Eiji flopped down on his bed and threw his feet up in the air, trying to contain his fitful laughter - like a girl who'd just set her first date.

A startling, but quiet, knock on his door snapped him back to reality and he sat up quickly. Oishi was standing in his open doorway, tennis bag slung over his shoulder, looking passively humored by Eiji's little fit.

"Oishi -"

"Still talking to him I see?" he said quietly.

"Um, yeah - I guess so." Eiji nodded, his face flushing at the thought of Oishi listening to him laughing like a moron. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I just got here, your mom let me in."

"Ah - well, come in then." he nodded, sliding over on his bed to invite him to sit down. Oishi shut the door behind him and set his bag down on the floor. He didn't sit down though, just leaned against Eiji desk, somehow seeming a little put out.

"Oishi, you ok?" Eiji asked him, tucking his knees under neither himself, and sitting up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he nodded, "You two make plans or something?"

"Why?" Eiji smiled, trying to lighten the mood, "You think it's treasonous of me?"

"No." Oishi shook his head, not seeming to brighten at all, at Eiji's attempt to be amusing.

"So? What brings you here?" Eiji asked quietly.

"I was just gonna see if you wanted to go play tennis, but, if you're going out with your new friend, I wont stop you." he smiled a little, sounding sincere, and picking his bag back up.

"No! Wait!" Eiji jumped up, "I'm not going anywhere! Can't you stay?"

"If you want, yeah." Oishi nodded, shrugging and laying his rackets back down. They both sat back down on Eiji's bed, as Eiji twirled his hair uneasily around his finger. He was suddenly feeling bad about wanting to be friends with someone from Hyotei - after all, they were supposed to be rivals.

"I'm sorry - if you're mad." Kikumaru sulked, staring down at his bedspread.

"I'm not mad at all," Oishi shook his head, laughing a little at Eiji's nervousness, "I'm glad if you've found someone who you relate to better."

"I don't relate to him better!" Eiji exclaimed, shaking his head quickly, almost sounding offended at the suggestion.

"Hehe, you don't have to pretend like you don't Eiji, no one's gonna tell you who you can and can't be friends with."

"But, Oishi -"

"If there is someone who can understand you better, then you have every right to be friends with them. It doesn't matter if he's from Hyotei, it's not as though opposing players are forbidden to be friends or anything!" he laughed.

Oishi was always so level-headed and common-sense about everything. He always seem to be able to justify anything Eiji was feeling.

"No way Oishi!" Kikumaru pouted, jumping his best friend suddenly, and grabbing him around his chest, "No one understands me better then you!"

"Heheh, well - that's good to know." Oishi smiled, propping himself up with his right hand as Eiji hugged him tightly, pressing his cheek to Oishi's chest and whimpering quietly, as if he were expecting to be in trouble - but Oishi said nothing.

"Why don't you ever get angry with me Oishi?" Eiji asked him curiously.

"I do - all the time," he laughed, "I'm always telling you not to do things."

"That's not angry, that's irritated." Eiji pointed out, "I can only think of once that you've ever been sort of mad at me - and it didn't even last a whole day!"

"What, you want me to get mad at you or something?"

"No..." Eiji sighed, as he sat up again, and they looked at each other. Oishi smiled calmly at his oddly concerned doubles-partner, and shook his head. Eiji shoulders hung heavily, as he grabbed at the edge of Oishi's shirt.

"Well then -" Oishi suggested, "do you want me to be jealous maybe?" Eiji's eyes widened at the thought.

"I - don't know what I want." he confessed, feeling his heart beating quickly in his chest.  
He felt overcome with a different sort of guilt, not just at having a new friend, who wasn't from his school, but over other things too. Oishi was, more important to him then anyone, but, maybe -

"It doesn't matter what you do Eiji." Oishi assured him, raising his hand to his friends face, and gently running his fingers threw his soft, curling, hair.

He was always so understanding, so caring - Oishi. Eiji had laid awake at night many times, wondering how he'd managed to hold on to someone like him for so long. How could someone as smart, and strong, and collected as Oishi be friends befriends with someone like him? That was what he had always wondered. When they were together, he sometimes tried to be more serious, but it really just wasn't in him. Kikumaru Eiji, was Kikumaru Eiji, and there wasn't any holding that back.

Akutagawa Jirou - he understood exactly what it felt like to be looked at oddly for being,  
and acting on, exactly what you felt. He saw, and got, and understood a whole different side of Eiji, didn't he? But why then - did he have to feel bad about that? Eiji couldn't set it right in his mind.

"Oishi!" Eiji said suddenly, jumping at his friend again and throwing himself around his neck. They fell back against his bed, and Eiji pressed himself tighter against Oishi as they lay there. Whenever he was confused, Eiji always felt like, just by being around - Oishi could sort everything out.

"You're a strange one." Eiji could hear him smile, as he buried his face into his shoulder possessively and affectionately. Oishi gently stroked the back of Eiji's hair, ruffling those cute,  
magenta-red, curls of his. It felt nice, the way Oishi always let him stay so close to him. He loved to be near him, with him, there was just something, certain and dependable about Oishi that he couldn't help but be in love with.

"Can you stay - with me, a while?" Eiji questioned him hopefully.

"As long as you want me to." he told him, wrapping his arms around the other boy as they lay there together, the way they so often did.

There was always an uncertainty hanging around them however, and both boys' minds were racing as quickly as their hearts were. Even though they knew for certain, that they had something that no one else could understand - neither could they. The feeling between them was never something they labeled. But, whatever it was, they had no idea how they could hold on to it.  
  
(To be continued)


	3. Falling Apart

"Laughing Matters"

-a Tennis no Oujisama fan-fiction by Calliope-

Chapter Three: Falling Apart

Message: When I wrote this story I'd only watched up to episode 80. I'm over 100 now but, I'm still not going to acknowledge any of it. I'm editing it as if I still knew no more then I did then - such is the way of it. And yeah, hmm - I am making Oishi be a bit of a bastard some times hehehe, but it'll be ok - again, trust me!

Summery: Eiji has found himself torn, between his new best friend, and the one person who has always been their for him. Confused and feeling like he can't have both - overcome with guilt and wishing there was something he could do - Eiji has to find a way to sort things out before he loses them both!

Warnings: shounen-ai, language, etc. EijiXOishi, EijiXJirou

(Disclaimer: as much as I wish it wasn't true - none of these characters belong to me. TT sadness)

oooooooooooo — (the o's are here for dividers cuz FF edits out my asterisks for some reason, sorry)

Classes ended the next day and the members of the tennis club all hurried off to change into their uniforms for practice. The Regulars all threw on their matching jerseys and grabbed their rackets, heading out to the courts to being their usual exercises.

"Fuji, Echizen, have you guys seen Eiji?" Oishi called to them as he joined them on the court.

"Not lately I haven't. Sorry." Fuji shook his head.

"Nope." Ryoma shrugged.

Ten minutes, then half an hour, then an hour - practice slowly went by and Kikumaru was nowhere to be seen. Despite constant reminders from his team mates, not to worry, Oishi was doing just that. It wasn't like Eiji not to show up for practice, and even less like him not to tell anyone why.

The second he had dismissed everyone and gotten changed, Oishi was on the phone calling Eiji's house.

"Hello? It's Oishi, is Eiji home?"

"Oh, Oishi-kun, hello!" Eiji's mother answered sweetly, "No, he's not here. Isn't he at practice with you?"

"No, he never showed up, I was just thinking maybe he'd gone home."

"No - he hasn't been here." she told him, with evident concern in her voice, "But if you find him, or if he shows up, get him to call, all right? And I'll do the same." she assured him, knowing full-well how much it was like Oishi to fret.

"Alright, thank you very much. Bye now."

"Kikumaru-sempai, not at home either?" Ryoma asked, seeing the concerned expression on Oishi's face when he hung up.

"No, he's not."

"You're going to go look for him then I take it?" Fuji said.

"Yeah." he nodded.

"I wouldn't worry about Eiji, Oishi," Kawamura told him, "you know he'll turn up sooner or later. It's probably nothing to be worried about."

"I know, but still..."

oooooooooooo

"Acrobatic tennis?"

"Yeah! Kikumaru here's an expert! Aren't you Eiji!" Jirou gloated, over-dramatically, to a pair of pretty girls he and Eiji were talking to at the icecream parlor.

Eiji had arrived right after class, to find Jirou asleep at one of the corner tables on the patio. He'd woken him up by spitting water at him threw his straw, drawing stares and giggles from some adjacent girls. When Eiji'd finally gotten him up, the two's loud voices and stupid antics began to draw a bit of a crowd. Three hours later - and they were still sitting at the same table talking to the same two girls who'd first been laughing at them.

"Ehhh! Jirou! I'm not an expert!" Eiji declined his complements, his face turning red.

"Sure sure you are!" Jirou laughed, throwing his arm around Eiji's shoulder. "Why don't you show em' a little somethin' hey!?"

"Ehh! No way! I couldn't!"

"Awww! Please Kikumaru-kun!" the girls begged him, smiling cutely, and bitting their lower lips in anticipation.

"Ehhh... chiii, ok! You talked me into it!" he laughed, getting up from his seat and grabbing for his tennis bag. "Eh, Jirou-kun, give me a hand k?!"

"For sure! For sure!" He jumped up and Eiji handed him one of his practice rackets.

"K," Eiji crossed the patio and jumped up onto the thing railing that separate the store front from the sidewalk. He walked down towards the end without so much as a falter and threw a ball back to Jirou. "you go to the other side of the street and hit one at me, I'll jump from here and hit it back at you from between my legs k?"

"Sure thing!" he nodded without question, and jumped the rail and ran out across the street.

"No way! Oh my gawd! Be careful Kikumaru-kun!" the girls yelled at him.

"No prob!" he smiled back at them with a wink, making them giggle even harder.

"READY!?" Jirou called to him.

"Go for it!" Kikumaru shouted back, bending his knees and setting up to jump.

Jirou threw the ball up extra high and hit it as hard as he could directly at Eiji, who pushed off of the rail hard and fast. Putting extra weight on his right foot he turned his body in the air till his back was to the ball; and lifting his knees as the ball shot at him, he swung his racket hard between his legs and hit the speeding, yellow target, right on the mark, sending it shooting strait back at Jirou, who caught it bare handed.

"EEE! Kikumaru-kun SUGOI!!" The girls cheered and clapped from the table.

"Do it again!" One of them laughed, totally impressed by, what was for Eiji, completely simple. They ran over to the rail and waved out to Jirou who nodded and set up to serve it again.

"Alright! Stand back! One more time!" Eiji laughed, steadying himself on the rail again.

"READY?!"

"READY!"

Jirou wound up and hit off another super-strait serve directly at Kikumaru.

"EIIJI!"

"Huh?" Startled by the sound of his voice, Eiji looked up, setting him off balance.

"EIJI LOOK OUT!" Jirou shouted at him. But it was too late, he didn't jump and Jirou's arrow-strait serve hit Eiji squarely in the shoulder, sending him falling backwards onto the patio.

The girls both squealed and ran to his side, and Jirou dashed back across the road in front of several cars, and hopped the rail.

"Eiji! You ok?" he asked, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet.

"OW! What the fuck! Who the hell?!?"

"EIJI!" the now, all too familiar, voice called him again, as Oishi came running up the sidewalk and over to them.

"Oishi!" Eiji shouted, "What are you doing here?!"

"What are YOU doing here!" he questioned him back, his hands flailing madly as he gestured at them. Eiji still had his hand in Jirou's and they both quickly let go when they noticed.

"Kikumaru-kun, Akutagawa-kun," the girls gather around them, pulling on their shirt sleeves, obviously put off by Oishi's yelling.

"It's ok," Eiji assured them, with a charming little smirk, "we'll see you guys again later ok?"

"K!" they both smiled, and promptly dashed off, giggling as they went.

"Eiji!" Oishi yelled at him again, irritated that he was being ignored.

"WHAT!?"

"What do you think you were doing?!"

"Just showing them some tennis! Right Jirou?" he laughed, and they both smirked.

"You coulda' hurt yourself, idiot!" Oishi went on scolding him.

"The only reason I GOT hurt, was cuz you started yelling at me!" Eiji pointed out angrily, as he rubbed his painfully stinging left shoulder.

"Yeah - you ok, Eiji?" Jirou asked him, "I hit that serve pretty hard!"

"Ehhhh, yeah I'm ok!" he smiled at him with a nod, rotating his shoulder to show him he was alright.

Hearing Jirou calling Eiji by his first name only served to make Oishi even madder, as he shook his head, almost in disgust, at how stupid Kikumaru was being.

"Why'd you skip practice?" Oishi asked him, trying to calm down.

"I don't know, I just wanted to." Eiji shrugged, folding his arms behind his head, and turning his attention back to Jirou rather then Oishi.

"Would you look at me when I'm talking to you!?" Oishi snapped at him, unable to hold back his irritation.

"What are you - my mother!?!" Eiji asked him heatedly, his hands firmly on his hips in defiance. "Come on Jirou... lets go." he shook his head, turning his back to his friend and walking off.

"Eiji! Wait!" Oishi called after him, but he didn't listen - he and Jirou just took off down the sidewalk - the Hyotei boy the only one who so much as looked back.

oooooooooooo

(To be continued)


	4. Falling Away

"Laughing Matters"

-a Tennis no Oujisama fan-fiction by Calliope-

Chapter Four: Falling Away

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Message: Well, I had all but abandoned putting this story up at all. It's been done since the first day I posted, but - I got discouraged a bit. But hey, what cha gonna do. I havn't even looked these chapters over again since I first did them, so, chances are there's mistakes, but what's new? Oh well. So, without further ado - yet more of this madness... with still more to come.

Summery: Eiji has found himself torn, between his new best friend, and the one person who has always been their for him. Confused and feeling like he can't have both - overcome with guilt and wishing there was something he could do - Eiji has to find a way to sort things out before he loses them both!

Warnings: shounen-ai, language, etc. EijiXOishi, EijiXJirou

(Disclaimer: as much as I wish it wasn't true - none of these characters belong to me. TT sadness)

oooooooooooo

"You sure it was ok to just leave?" Jirou asked Eiji as they meandered threw the park. The sun was starting to get low and a breeze had picked up, but they just wondered on aimlessly.

"Yeah, he's being an idiot anyway. Who does he think he is anyhow?" Eiji muttered angrily.

"He was just worried I guess, after all, you did skip practice. And to see me of all people! Heheh! Bet they think you're a traitor!"

"Hehehe! No doubt! It would figure!" he laughed, nodding in agreement.

Jirou was doing his best to suppressing his yawning but it was obvious that his chronic sleeping tendencies were getting the better of him.

"Tiered?" Eiji laughed at him, smiling at the way he was trying so hard to cover it up.

"Mmm, a little." he confessed, "I can't remember the last time I was awake this long!"

They both laughed, and Eiji suggested they call it a day, but Jirou declined and suggested they just go sit for a while till he got his energy back. Finding a comfortable spot under a tree, from which they had a clear view of the street tennis courts, the pair sat back, watching an in progress doubles match for a while.

"Sometimes I wish we didn't have to take tennis so seriously." Eiji sighed, as he hugged his knees.

"Yeah I know what you mean." Jirou nodded, "But if we didn't we wouldn't be where we are now, now would we?" he smiled.

"Hoy, yeah - that's true." Eiji smiled.

"We're just gonna keep on getting better too. I mean, you, me, both Hyotei and Seigaku, we're not at our full potential yet."

"Nope, I guess we aren't, are we." Eiji agreed. "There may not be any more times when we have to play each other the way we did the other day, but, if we all keep going the way we are, it'll be unavoidable that we'll all have to face each other again some day."

"Uh huh." Jirou nodded, yawning as he did so. His eyes were getting heavy, but he smiled still. "Hey, maybe even one day," he snickered tieredly, his voice trailing off a little, "after high school - you and me, could even be doubles partners some time."

"Hehehe," Eiji laughed at him, "yeah, maybe some day."

But he didn't know if he even heard him, as Jirou's head fell lightly onto Eiji's shoulder - his eyes closed and his breathing quiet and even. That uneasy feeling began to rise inside of him again, as his heart began beating a little faster. The cool breeze began to ruffles his hair and he pushed it back out of his eyes.

Eiji smiled to himself, as he looked down at the boy, sleeping soundly against his side; and he could feel Jirou's warm breath against his exposed collar bone where he had left his shirt partially unbuttoned.

He felt tingly all over, both calm and anxious at the same time. He wondered for a moment just how much he could really care about Jirou - his silly, excitable, new found soul-mate. After all, they hadn't met that long ago, but, still - they'd spent so much time together. The meshed like they'd known each other their entire lives, and they acted like it too. They were definitely friendly with one another, not quite like Eiji was with Oishi, but - somehow it never felt awkward to put their arm around each others shoulder, or sit extra close to one another on the bus. But, that was just the way people like them were, right?

So why did he feel like he did right now, if it was so normal to wanna be closer to someone who was just your friend. The sounds of excited cheering from the courts caught his attention and Eiji looked down to where play had now stopped. The winning doubles pair were jumping up and down, high-fiveing one another on their victory, while the losers consoled one another for their loss.

A second ago he was just imagining what it would be like to have Jirou as a doubles partner, but he'd forgot - he already had one. Or at least - he did. He was beginning to feel worse and worse about the stupid fight he'd just had with Oishi.

"Why don't you ever get mad at me?" he'd asked him. And now Eiji was sure he must be. Maybe this time, they really would quit being partners. After all - why would he forgive him for doing what he did? Eiji stomach was in knots, thinking about how he'd face Oishi tomorrow at school, and on the courts. It wasn't as if he could just pretend nothing happened.

Jirou began to stir again, and sat up, rubbing his eyes as he yawned.

"Ehh, sorry Eiji. I guess I fell asleep again." he laughed lightly.

"Don't worry bout it, I know what you're like." Eiji just laughed.

"Eiji?"

"Yeah, Jirou?"

"Do you, wonder ever - if, we really are doing something wrong?"

"What? By being friends?"

"Yeah." he nodded, his scruffy cut hair hanging in his face as he stared at the ground, "Even Atobe was giving me a hard time about it. And he usually never cares what I do."

"Eh, they're just jealous that we can get along and they can't!" Eiji laughed, not wanting to stress over the idea.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Jirou nodded with a smile. He began to snicker a little, and Eiji leaned out, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Eh? What's so funny?"

"Heh? Oh, nothing really."

"Oh come on, what?" Eiji prodded him.

"It's just," he started, turning to Eiji - who felt himself begging to blush ever so slightly when their eyes met, "at Hyotei, it was as if, I'd forgotten what it was like to really have fun with someone."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, have you been there?" he laughed, "Most of em' are so dry and stuck-up. I can sleep threw anything! But, with you, Eiji -" he stopped slowly, his eyes wandering across Eiji's face.

"I think, I know what you mean..." Eiji half nodded, swallowing hard, and feeling as though his heart were beating in his throat.

"Uh huh, I figured you," he began to fall over his words, "you, of all people," their eyes met again, both with equal tension. Their bare forearms touching at their sides, and sending shivers threw both of them as they leaned closer to one another.

"Yeah - me... of all people..." Eiji just repeated him blindly, both losing themselves somewhere in oblivion, as their noses brushed they were so close.

"You'd understand... Kikumaru, Eiji -" Jirou nearly whispered now. Suddenly he grabbed Eiji's hand quickly in his own, stopping both their hearts, and startling Eiji to move - move, and press his lips firmly against the other boys before either of them could even regain their breath.

Sweet, and firm, and born of some sort of twisted mix of guilt, uncertainty, and intense need, the two boys kiss was quick but seemed to last an eternity. Eyes open widely, they both seemed to be in shock as they sat back and stared at one another - their lips tingling, and their hearts pounding harder then ever.

Eiji was the first to his feet, then Jirou - but it was the Hyotei Singles-2, who spoke first.

"I'd better go." he said weakly, smiling in spite of his flustered state, and bushing from ear to ear as he cast his eyes to the ground.

"Yeah - me too." Eiji nodded, unable to even keep himself from faltering over his words; his stomach too full of butterflies to let him think strait.

"I'll see you later, right?" Jirou asked quietly, as he began to turn his back to Eiji.

"For sure." Eiji told him certainly.

"For sure then." he nodded, smiling faintly back at him before running off.

oooooooooooo

(To be continued)


	5. Falling Further Still

"Laughing Matters"

-a Tennis no Oujisama fan-fiction by Calliope-

Chapter Five: Falling Further Still

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Message: yet more! I didn't even wait between these posts, and I'll probably put up another, might as well. hehehe, I don't know how you guys are/aren't enjoying this but, hope it's not TOO bad. This chapter's uber short, but... I think it's got less mistakes in it... maybe Oo; chuu...

Summery: Eiji has found himself torn, between his new best friend, and the one person who has always been their for him. Confused and feeling like he can't have both - overcome with guilt and wishing there was something he could do - Eiji has to find a way to sort things out before he loses them both!

Warnings: shounen-ai, language, etc. EijiXOishi, EijiXJirou

(Disclaimer: as much as I wish it wasn't true - none of these characters belong to me. TT sadness)

oooooooooooo

"KIKUMARU EIJI!" his mothers voice yelled loudly at him from the end of that hall when he tried to slip into the house that night. He'd been too confused and flustered to go home, and it was nearly eleven thirty before he even made it back. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't sneek in quietly enough to escape the ears of a worried mother.

"Hi mom." he muttered, not looking up from the floor.

"EIJI! Do you have ANY IDEA what time it is!?" She continued to yell at hm, "You had everyone worried sick! Oishi called wondering where you were when you didn't show up for practice, and you didn't so much as CALL! Then he calls me and tells me he found you but you STILL didn't phone me! Do you have any idea how worried we've all been! What were you thinking!!"

"I WASN'T THINKING OK!" he shouted back at her, holding back frustrated tears. "I WASN'T THINKING ABOUT ANYONE BUT MYSELF!" he pushed past her and ran up to his room, slamming his door behind him.

He didn't even change before climbing into his bed and pulling his covers over his head. Angry, happy, sad, upset, confused, he didn't know what he was - he just cried. Eiji couldn't sort anything out in his head, he didn't know what to feel. Part of him was still flustered and nearly giddy that he'd just kissed someone he knew he liked so much, but he was also upset about his fight with Oishi, and the fact that - he wasn't the one he'd kissed.

There wasn't any point in him denying it, he knew how he felt about Oishi, he'd always known he just never did anything about it. And now he hated himself for it. There was no one else he'd ever imagined himself kissing, only Oishi - and now what had he done?

Truthfully, Oishi had always felt too far away for Eiji to even feel like he could tell him how he felt. Jirou was his equal, he was just like him, he wasn't afraid of the fact that he liked him - it was different. But Oishi, he was so much better then him - smarter, dependable, more mature. He always felt like Oishi knew how he felt anyway - but he could never say it. Right now all he wanted to do was be laying on his bed, wrapped up in his arms again. But now - that would never happen again. Ever.

He ran his fingers across his lips, still feeling as though he could feel Jirou's lips against his own. He bit his finger, half angry at himself for doing it, and half glad that he did. Part of him wanted to do it again - kiss that energetic, happy, reflection of himself, but - what about Oishi?

Eiji was so distant after that day; his mother had grounded him for a week, and he wasn't aloud out to do anything but go to tennis practice. Fuji had, a little too happily Eiji thought, delivered him his sentence for skipping practice - 50 laps and club room cleaning duty for five days. He couldn't even look at Oishi, let alone talk to him - and it was killing him everyday.

Jirou had called him, the very next day, and Eiji had only been aloud five minutes to explain what had happened.

"I'm sorry." Jirou apologize to him, when Eiji had told him what it'd come to.

"No, it's not your fault, it's mine. I was stupid - I didn't think." Eiji assured him.

"Well, it was my idea, so I'm partially to blame, at least."

"It's alright, don't worry bout it." Eiji tried to laugh, but he knew it sounded forced.

"Eiji?"

"Uh huh?"

"I'm sorry - about - what I did."

"Don't be, it was me. I did it."

"Well then -" Eiji could practically hear him smile, "I'm glad you did." he confessed.

"Mm, me too." Eiji couldn't help but smile too, nodding to himself as they both laughed nervously.

"So what happens now?" Jirou finally asked him.

"I don't know," Eiji sighed, "I was hoping you did."

"Nope."

"Just one week - I'll see you again then, if you still want to."

"Of course, more then anything!" he exclaimed, making Eiji laugh at his unshakable enthusiasm.

"Ok, well, miss me until then!" Eiji snickered, felling distinctly better to know where he stood with at least one person.

"Course, you too. Bye Eiji."

"Bye bye."

oooooooooooo

(To be continued)


	6. Falling Down

"Laughing Matters"

-a Tennis no Oujisama fan-fiction by Calliope-

Chapter Six: Falling Down

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Message: three chapters up in a matter of minutes... that's speedy-quickie for me, heehhe. Well, this is it for now, I'll post the last three chapters when I get back from my trip! See you all later! R&R if yah can! VAI!

Summery: Eiji has found himself torn, between his new best friend, and the one person who has always been their for him. Confused and feeling like he can't have both - overcome with guilt and wishing there was something he could do - Eiji has to find a way to sort things out before he loses them both!

Warnings: shounen-ai, language, etc. EijiXOishi, EijiXJirou

(Disclaimer: as much as I wish it wasn't true - none of these characters belong to me. TT sadness)

oooooooooooo

Six days had passed, the freshmen had taken over the club room cleaning duties again, and he was only one day away from being aloud to leave his house again, but Eiji couldn't be certain just how much he cared if he could or not. None of his teammates had bothered him yet, about how quiet he was being, or about how he left so promptly after practice. He assumed that Oishi had, in his good nature, told them what had happened, and not to bother him. He was like that - he even looked out for people he was mad at.

It was raining that day, but not hard enough to hinder practice, so the tennis club members were out in their jackets swinging away at the rain as it fell on them. Eiji felt listless as the rain soaked ball made thick, heavy, clopping sounds against the court, rather then it's usual happy thlipping. Even the weather seemed to be against him. His hair hung heavily around his face, and he had to push it out of his eyes ever minute to keep from losing sight of his target. Fuji offered to play him, but he was in just as bad a shape, with his long bangs hanging in his line of sight, even worse then usual.

Even the Regulars were playing especially shitty games, and you could tell by the short way people were talking to one another that everyone was getting irritated. But a hush fell over the far corner of the court, and the freshmen began to whisper and point, making everyone's eyes fall in the same direction.

"It's a spy!" Eiji heard one of the freshmen exclaim, and he finally turned his attention to the back corner of the court.

Standing in the wet, muddy grass outside the fence around the court, was a tall, thin, boy, with dusty, shaggy-cut hair, soaked from head to toe despite his heavy jersey. His familiar colored jacket made everyone stop; a spy indeed - a Hyotei regular. Eiji's racket fell from his hand and clattered against the court.

"Jirou."

Eiji went wide eyed all of a sudden, fumbling and laughing nervously as he noticed everyone had looked at him suddenly, and bent down to pick it up. He bit his lip and wondered for a moment wether or not he should go talk to him, but, he couldn't resist. He ran across the court, his wet sneakers splashing across the wet surface.

"Oy! Everyone! Pay attention to your games!" Eiji heard Oishi's voice call from behind him, as everyone was no doubt watching him as he walked up to the Hyotei rival.

"Jirou, why are you here?" Eiji whispered to him, when he got up to the fence.

"How else was I gonna get to see you?" he smiled, as he tried to push his rain soaked hair out of his face.

"Hehehe! Idiot!" Eiji laughed, genuinely happy to see him.

"Hehe, everyone's staring at us." Jirou snickered, leaning his forehead against the chain-link as he clutched at it with his fingers.

"Hoy hoy," Eiji stuck out his tongue, "let em stair, I don't care."

"I bet they think we're swapping team secrets or something."

"No - we're swapping spit." Eiji corrected him, far too nonchalantly for the subject. To which Jirou promptly covered his mouth with his hand to keep his rather hysterical laughter from drawing attention. Six days in exile had made Eiji a little bitter, and he was about ready to just start yelling to the world, just to get out some of the energy he'd been boxing up in his attempt to prolonge his own sulking.

Eiji looked back over his shoulder; Oishi was watching them tentatively, and when their eyes met they both quickly looked away.

"Think you'll get in trouble?" Jirou asked, noticing the uneasy way Eiji looked away from him.

"I'm already in trouble, what's it matter?" Eiji smiled, turning his eyes back up to him as the rain continued to run down his face. He linked his fingers into the same links and Jirou's and shook his head with a smile. "Still, I'd better get back, Fuji'll wanna finish our game."

"Ehhh! Fuji!? You're so lucky you get to practice with him all the time!!!" he exclaimed.

"Geeze Jirou, if you like him so much, why aren't you here to bother HIM." Eiji questioned him sarcastically.

"Hey hey, none of that!"

"Hehehe! Anyways! Gota go! I'm glad you came though." he grinned at him, tapping his fingers on the back of Jirou's hands threw the fence.

"See you Eiji."

"Just one more day!" he called back at him, waving as he crossed back onto the court.

"Ehhh? What's this?" Momoshiro commented, as Eiji skipped back over, seemingly revitalized by his little visit.

"Chehhh?"

"You given away our secrets or somethin Kikumaru-sempai!" Momoshiro geered him, prodding at him in the shoulder with his racket.

"No, not at all! Just talkin with a friend! Is that such a crime?"

"Friend?! From Hyotei!?" He exclaimed, sounding totally disgusted.

"YESSSSS!" Eiji stuck out his tongue at him, promptly ending that little debte.

Eiji rubbed his arm stiffly as Momoshiro walked away; he'd done his best not to flinch, but even a light touch from his racket hurt enormously. The bruise Eiji had gotten as a result of taking Jirou's serve directly in the shoulder the other day had completely covered his skin with a huge purple and blue welt far larger the tennis ball itself.

oooooooooooo

As practice came to a close that day, the sky really opened up - raining like it hadn't in nearly a month - coming down in sheets and filling the roadsides till it was nearly ankle deep. Popping open his umbrella, Eiji stepped out of the club house and into the storm. Everyone had scattered like cockroaches the minute the downpour had began, and the grounds were feeling especially desolate.

He sighed to himself, and shook his head, slugging his heavy tennis bag over his right shoulder, and carrying his umbrella with the same hand. His left shoulder was hurting to badly, as not long after Momoshiro had been poking at him with his racket, he'd turned around during his game with Fuji and taken the ball in the same place yet again.

He whimpered as he stepped out into the storm, the rain sounding heavily off of his umbrella, as he headed slowly for home. He hadn't even reached the gates before he heard someone calling to him threw the downpour. Turning around he saw Oishi running after him, he felt his teeth clench and his stomach drop, and he contemplated running away, but - there was no point. He knew he'd have to face him sooner or later.

"Oishi -" Eiji muttered, when he caught up to him.

"Eiji - I" he had to stop and catch his breath, "I needed to talk to you."

"Yeah?" he said, as if he weren't expecting it, "Don't suppose we could walk at the same time - I don't really want to stand in the rain." Eiji pointed out, hoping that maybe they could reach his house before they had a chance to discuss much.

"Of course." he nodded, and they walked off the school grounds and into the rain washed streets.

"So - what did you want?" Eiji asked nervously, trying to be calm, not knowing wether to play oblivious or not. His mind was racing trying to decide wether to be mad or upset, or just act like nothing was wrong.

"It's about your arm." he said, catching Eiji a little off guard, as he was expect something different.

"My arm?"

"Yeah, I should have known something was wrong when you were warming up, you weren't swinging normally."

"Eh - really?" he hadn't even noticed himself.

"Yeah, and then Momoshiro hit you with his racket, and you could see it on your face - that you were in pain."

"Could you really?" Eiji was rather amazed, thinking he'd hid it so well.

"Yeah - I mean, I was - well, worried."

"Oishi," Eiji's tone became a little irritated; as it was, after all, Oishi's worrying about him that essentially started his whole problem, "you don't have to get all uppity every time something happens to me - it's not like you're my mother."

"But, I'm just -"

"Worried! I know!" Eiji rolled his eyes, "Well quit worrying I'm fine! It's nothing!"

"Does this look like nothing to you!?" he shouted at Eiji, pulling back on the collar of his jacket to expose the huge bruise underneath his shirt.

Eiji quickly smacked Oishi's hand away from him, dropping his umbrella.

"If I say it's nothing - then it's nothing!" he yelled at him.

"You're being stupid Eiji!"

"Aren't I ALWAYS!" Eiji retorted angrily, never bothering to pick up his umbrella again.

"Come on, would you please just -" Oishi tried to keep calm, but Eiji wouldn't hear it.

"Is that all you wanted!?" the upset and now trembling, red-head, yelled at him. "You're just worried about some stupid injury!?!"

"Well yeah - I"

"Hehehe!" Eiji laughed cruely, "And here I was thinkin' you'd be mad at me for having outside visitors or some shit like that!"

"If you expect me to get up at you about Akutagawa -"

"So you're not mad at me then?!" Eiji kept on shouting.

"No! WHY!? Should I be!? Sure you were a total JERK to me but hey - what more can I expect from someone who's 'always being stupid'!" he shouted back at him, throwing his own words at him.

"I guess not a lot!"

"Apparently not!" the two went on shouting at one another, in the downpour, Eiji getting more and more soaked by the minute.

"Fuck! Sometimes I wish you'd just...!"

"Just WHAT Eiji?!"

"Fuck if I know!" he was just yelling for the sake of yelling now, and he didn't even know why.

"If you'd just calm down a minute maybe you'd see theirs NOTHING to be upset about!" Oishi just went on yelling back at him, neither one able to keep their cool.

"Nothing?!? Nothing!? EXCUSE ME Oishi - but I AM upset! And I can be if I want to!"

"Then go ahead and be! I have no reason to!"

"Fuck, no probably not! What do you care!?! I only fuckin kissed the guy!"

Eiji hands went to his mouth the second the words left it, as though he'd even startled himself by hearing it.

"You... what?" Oishi asked, looking completely stunned, as though someone had just hit him upside the head with a tennis racket.

Eiji just shook his head, his eyes wide with impending tears, and his hands still covering his mouth to keep himself from saying anything else stupid.

"Eiji..." Oishi murmured, reaching out to him - but Eiji stepped back, just shaking his head. Turning his back on him Eiji took off down the road at a dead run, his feet pounding the street as fast as they would take him. He could feel himself slip over and over but he just kept on going.

"EIJI! WAIT!" he could vaguely hear Oishi's voice calling out to him threw the rain. But he didn't turn back, he just kept on running.

oooooooooooo

(To be continued)


End file.
